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Bloody Roar (video game)
Encyclopedia
, known as Bloody Roar: Hyper Beast Duel in Europe, is a fighting
video game originally developed
by Raizing (now Eighting) as an arcade game
. It was later adapted for the PlayStation by Hudson Soft
and published
by Sony Computer Entertainment
for the PlayStation. The arcade version was released on July 7, 1997 and was titled Beastorizer in North America. The PlayStation version was released in Japan on November 6, 1997, in North America (under the game's original title) on October 31, 1997 and in Europe on March 1998.
Bloody Roar is the first game in the Bloody Roar
video game series and was followed by four sequel
s on multiple platforms. The game's story centers on a group of warriors known as "zoanthropes", who have the power to transform into half-human half-animal "Beasts", and the Tyron Corporation, and underground organization that seeks to use zoanthropes as mind-controlled weapons. The game received generally positive reviews from critics for its originality and graphics, while the audio received mixed opinions. The game's success resulted in its re-release for The Best range
on October 14, 1999. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.
At the beginning of each stage, both players have a set amount of energy that is used to activate "Beast Mode", which causes the character to change into a Beast. Players may transform at any time after the letter "B" appears in the "Beast Indicator" below the players' life energy indicators
. The Beast Indicator appears blue when storing the energy needed for transforming. When the Beast Indicator is fully charged, the word "BEAST" appears, and the player can activate Beast Mode by pressing a certain button. During Beast Mode, the amount of fighting moves available to the character increases, the character becomes heavier, 3% of the character's life energy recovers and the character's jumping ability increases. While in Beast Mode, the Beast Indicator turns yellow. The yellow area decreases according to damage sustained by the character. The yellow area does not recharge during the current round. When the yellow area completely depletes, the Beast Mode will negate when the character is hit by an effective technique from the opponent.
zoanthrope on a quest to uncover the circumstances of his father's death. His father, , was a mercenary said to have died in combat in a South America
n country. Yūgo also seeks the mercenary Gadou, the sole survivor of Yūji's combat unit. Yūgo and Gadou eventually meet in a secret Tyron Corporation laboratory, where Gadou reveals that Yūji was a zoanthrope who fought against the Tyron Corporation's mind control experiments and conversion process. Yūgo then promises his father that he will destroy their enemies with the powers that he inherited from him.
is a French
lion
zoanthrope, a professional mercenary and military genius who took part in a mission with his best friend and Yūgo's father, Yūji, years ago. On that day, his union of armies was crushed by a combined force of superior zoanthropes and a hostile army that appeared out of nowhere. Gadou was seriously injured in the battle and lost his sight in one eye. Afterward, he went off to search for Yūji and discover the identity of the enemy. At the end of the game, he destroys the Tyron Corporation, finally exacting revenge for Yūji. After Gadou's arrest, police discover the Tyron Corporation's secret lab and accumulate enough evidence against the Tyron Corporation to drop charges against Gadou. Afterward, desiring the thrill of battle, Gadou returns to the battlefield and promises Yūji that they will meet again in the heavens.
is a mole
zoanthrope and a self-styled master of the traditional ninja
arts. His personal details are veiled in secrecy and his existence is a mystery. An expert in assassination, he was enlisted in an infamous ungerground organization and put in charge of sabotage and the abduction of zoanthropes for experimentation. After the events of the story, Bakuryū's molecules destabilize, causing his body to completely decompose. As a result, the scientists of the Tyron Corporation decide to concentrate their efforts on a new conversion process.
is a wild boar zoanthrope and everyday housewive with a massive body and generous nature. After her daughter (who is also a zoanthrope) was abducted, she went on a quest to find her, the only clue being the kidnapper's steely eyes and insanely sardonic grin. At the end of the game, she discovers her daughter Uriko and brings her home, where they lead a peaceful life.
is a Chinese
tiger
zoanthrope who curses his fate and zoanthrope blood. When he was a child, his mother and younger sister died one after the other. Neglected by his workaholic father, Long ran away from his home. Afterward, his great skills in the martial arts and zoanthrope powers brought him recognition, and he was enlisted by an underground assassination unit. After the events of the story, Long seals himself away from the world due to his zoanthrope blood.
is a rabbit
zoanthrope who was kidnapped as a child by a secret research institution that conspired to use zoanthropes as weapons. After being subjected to physical experimentation, her latent powers were awakened, after which she was used as a test subject and given battle training. However, she managed to escape the institution before being brainwashed, earning herself the freedom she had long sought. While hiding herself to regain her composure, she began to worry about a girl that Alice befriended in the institution. Because the girl sacrificed herself by distracting Alice's pursuers during her escape, Alice decided to come out of hiding and fight against the institution. After the events of the story, Alice is adopted by her aunt Mitsuko and lives a peaceful life as a part of her family.
( for short) is an American
gorilla
zoanthrope who, in his youth, fulfilled his hope of running away to join a circus
. Having a great talent for handling animals, he later took charge of the circus after the ringmaster
retired
. But with the rapid changes in the entertainment industry, the circus eventually went bankrupt
and its members parted ways. After the events of the story, Greg tries to talk Yūgo into joining his circus in an attempt to avert the circus's closure, but is eventually convinced into being the star himself.
(nicknamed ) is an English
fox
zoanthrope with a warped mind and heightened aesthetic sense. He is obsessed with beauty and despises ugly things, boasting of his good looks and publicly declaring all else ugly. Abandoned as a child and raised in the slums, he grew up into a well-known scoundrel. He earned the nickname of Fox from his wariness and cruelty in beating up even the very weakest. He works for the Organization in the same unit as Bakuryū and engages in such activities as kidnapping and murder. After the events of the story, Fox kills another civilian, but is shocked to discover that it is his own mother.
, Kenichi Koyano, Hitoshi Sakimoto
, Masaharu Iwata
and Tomoko Miyagi. Takayuki Negishi composed original music for the PlayStation version of the game. The music was recorded at Sound City, Tower Side, FE1, with Takayuki Hijikata and Makoto Matsushita at the guitars
, Michio Nagaoka at the bass
and Toshinobu Takimoto at the drums
. The Japanese voice cast features Nobutoshi Canna
as Yūgo, Mika Kanai
as Alice, Ryō Horikawa
as Long, Fumihiko Tachiki
as Bakuryū and Ako Mayama (as "Rin Mizuhara") as Mitsuko. The English voices were recorded at Berkeley Sound Artists; the cast of the English version consists of David Babich, Erik Bergmann, Jimmy Nochol, Anet Tarpoff, Donna Mae Wong, Scott McCulloch, Barry Gjerde
and Samantha Vega.
stated that the game's graphics were "every bit as good as the arcade version". Douglass Perry of IGN
noted that the graphics had "great shadows" and "detailed textures in both the background and on the characters", but added that while the character design was "cool-looking", it was not "addictive or moving". Gerstmann said that the game "runs fast and very smoothly" and that the game's moves are "very dynamic, resulting in a lot of oohs and aahs as a wolf bites a chunk out of his opponent's neck and blood spurts everywhere, splattering on the ground." Perry noted that the "high frame rates and a speedy graphic engine enable moves to be executed quickly and without wait." Gerstmann passed the music off as "typical fighting game fare", while Perry admitted that he "actually [liked] half of the tunes, while half of them sound like they've been ripped off from forgettable '80s heavy metal
tunes." Gerstmann said that the sound effects were "really great", while Perry noted that the only character sounds he found annoying were those from the character Alice, comparing her to both a "broken record" and Demonica from the Nintendo 64
video game Dark Rift
. The game's success resulted in its re-release for The Best range
on October 14, 1999. Bloody Roar was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
video game originally developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Raizing (now Eighting) as an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
. It was later adapted for the PlayStation by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
for the PlayStation. The arcade version was released on July 7, 1997 and was titled Beastorizer in North America. The PlayStation version was released in Japan on November 6, 1997, in North America (under the game's original title) on October 31, 1997 and in Europe on March 1998.
Bloody Roar is the first game in the Bloody Roar
Bloody Roar
is a series of fighting games created by Hudson Soft, and developed together with Eighting. The series has been published by multiple companies, including, Virgin Interactive, Activision and Konami.Hudson Soft later became a subsidiary of Konami.-Information:...
video game series and was followed by four sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s on multiple platforms. The game's story centers on a group of warriors known as "zoanthropes", who have the power to transform into half-human half-animal "Beasts", and the Tyron Corporation, and underground organization that seeks to use zoanthropes as mind-controlled weapons. The game received generally positive reviews from critics for its originality and graphics, while the audio received mixed opinions. The game's success resulted in its re-release for The Best range
The Best range
The Best is a Sony PlayStation budget range in Japan and parts of Asia. For the PlayStation, The Best was followed by PSone Books when the PSone was released in 2000...
on October 14, 1999. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.
Gameplay
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
. The Beast Indicator appears blue when storing the energy needed for transforming. When the Beast Indicator is fully charged, the word "BEAST" appears, and the player can activate Beast Mode by pressing a certain button. During Beast Mode, the amount of fighting moves available to the character increases, the character becomes heavier, 3% of the character's life energy recovers and the character's jumping ability increases. While in Beast Mode, the Beast Indicator turns yellow. The yellow area decreases according to damage sustained by the character. The yellow area does not recharge during the current round. When the yellow area completely depletes, the Beast Mode will negate when the character is hit by an effective technique from the opponent.
Story and characters
is a young wolfGray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
zoanthrope on a quest to uncover the circumstances of his father's death. His father, , was a mercenary said to have died in combat in a South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n country. Yūgo also seeks the mercenary Gadou, the sole survivor of Yūji's combat unit. Yūgo and Gadou eventually meet in a secret Tyron Corporation laboratory, where Gadou reveals that Yūji was a zoanthrope who fought against the Tyron Corporation's mind control experiments and conversion process. Yūgo then promises his father that he will destroy their enemies with the powers that he inherited from him.
is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
zoanthrope, a professional mercenary and military genius who took part in a mission with his best friend and Yūgo's father, Yūji, years ago. On that day, his union of armies was crushed by a combined force of superior zoanthropes and a hostile army that appeared out of nowhere. Gadou was seriously injured in the battle and lost his sight in one eye. Afterward, he went off to search for Yūji and discover the identity of the enemy. At the end of the game, he destroys the Tyron Corporation, finally exacting revenge for Yūji. After Gadou's arrest, police discover the Tyron Corporation's secret lab and accumulate enough evidence against the Tyron Corporation to drop charges against Gadou. Afterward, desiring the thrill of battle, Gadou returns to the battlefield and promises Yūji that they will meet again in the heavens.
is a mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
zoanthrope and a self-styled master of the traditional ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
arts. His personal details are veiled in secrecy and his existence is a mystery. An expert in assassination, he was enlisted in an infamous ungerground organization and put in charge of sabotage and the abduction of zoanthropes for experimentation. After the events of the story, Bakuryū's molecules destabilize, causing his body to completely decompose. As a result, the scientists of the Tyron Corporation decide to concentrate their efforts on a new conversion process.
is a wild boar zoanthrope and everyday housewive with a massive body and generous nature. After her daughter (who is also a zoanthrope) was abducted, she went on a quest to find her, the only clue being the kidnapper's steely eyes and insanely sardonic grin. At the end of the game, she discovers her daughter Uriko and brings her home, where they lead a peaceful life.
is a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
zoanthrope who curses his fate and zoanthrope blood. When he was a child, his mother and younger sister died one after the other. Neglected by his workaholic father, Long ran away from his home. Afterward, his great skills in the martial arts and zoanthrope powers brought him recognition, and he was enlisted by an underground assassination unit. After the events of the story, Long seals himself away from the world due to his zoanthrope blood.
is a rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
zoanthrope who was kidnapped as a child by a secret research institution that conspired to use zoanthropes as weapons. After being subjected to physical experimentation, her latent powers were awakened, after which she was used as a test subject and given battle training. However, she managed to escape the institution before being brainwashed, earning herself the freedom she had long sought. While hiding herself to regain her composure, she began to worry about a girl that Alice befriended in the institution. Because the girl sacrificed herself by distracting Alice's pursuers during her escape, Alice decided to come out of hiding and fight against the institution. After the events of the story, Alice is adopted by her aunt Mitsuko and lives a peaceful life as a part of her family.
( for short) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
zoanthrope who, in his youth, fulfilled his hope of running away to join a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
. Having a great talent for handling animals, he later took charge of the circus after the ringmaster
Ringmaster (circus)
The ringmaster is the most visible performer in the modern circus, and among the most important, since he stage-manages the performance, introduces the various acts, and guides the audience through the entertainment experience. In smaller circuses, the ringmaster is often the owner and artistic...
retired
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
. But with the rapid changes in the entertainment industry, the circus eventually went bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and its members parted ways. After the events of the story, Greg tries to talk Yūgo into joining his circus in an attempt to avert the circus's closure, but is eventually convinced into being the star himself.
(nicknamed ) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
zoanthrope with a warped mind and heightened aesthetic sense. He is obsessed with beauty and despises ugly things, boasting of his good looks and publicly declaring all else ugly. Abandoned as a child and raised in the slums, he grew up into a well-known scoundrel. He earned the nickname of Fox from his wariness and cruelty in beating up even the very weakest. He works for the Organization in the same unit as Bakuryū and engages in such activities as kidnapping and murder. After the events of the story, Fox kills another civilian, but is shocked to discover that it is his own mother.
Development
Bloody Roar was originally released as an arcade game titled Beastorizer in America, and was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo under the title. The visual design of the game was created by Mitsuakira Tatsuta (who also designed the characters of the game) and Shinsuke Yamakawa. The background music for Beastorizer and the Arcade Mode of Bloody Roar was composed by Atsuhiro Motoyama (who also created the sound effects for the game), Manabu NamikiManabu Namiki
is a Japanese video game composer who works mainly on shooter games. He has worked with game companies such as Allumer, NMK, Raizing and Cave...
, Kenichi Koyano, Hitoshi Sakimoto
Hitoshi Sakimoto
is a Japanese video game composer and arranger. He is best known for scoring the games Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, though he has composed soundtracks for over 70 games and arranged music for more than 40 others. He began playing music and video games in elementary school, and began...
, Masaharu Iwata
Masaharu Iwata
is a Japanese video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to several games there, beginning with 1987's Bakusou Buggy Ipatsu Yarou, and...
and Tomoko Miyagi. Takayuki Negishi composed original music for the PlayStation version of the game. The music was recorded at Sound City, Tower Side, FE1, with Takayuki Hijikata and Makoto Matsushita at the guitars
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, Michio Nagaoka at the bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and Toshinobu Takimoto at the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. The Japanese voice cast features Nobutoshi Canna
Nobutoshi Canna
is a seiyū who was born on June 10, 1968 in Tokyo. Canna is currently affiliated with Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Tasuki , Ban Mido , Nnoitra , Basara Nekki , Kabuto Yakushi , Guts , Knuckles the Echidna Lee...
as Yūgo, Mika Kanai
Mika Kanai
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is currently attached to Ken Production. Her pet name is . She is best known for her roles in Idol Tenshi Yōkoso Yōko , Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka , Goldfish Warning! , Soreike! Anpanman , Yadamon , After War Gundam X , Tokyo...
as Alice, Ryō Horikawa
Ryo Horikawa
is a Japanese voice actor. He is married to fellow Japanese voice actress Hitomi Oikawa, whose birth name is also . His former stage name is also Ryo Horikawa, which has his given name, Makoto, pronounced as Ryo.-Career:...
as Long, Fumihiko Tachiki
Fumihiko Tachiki
is a Japanese voice actor and narrator.-Career:Formerly a blues singer and known for his low voice, Tachiki is best known as the narrator for the pre-fight movies for Pride Fighting Championships and currently for Dream...
as Bakuryū and Ako Mayama (as "Rin Mizuhara") as Mitsuko. The English voices were recorded at Berkeley Sound Artists; the cast of the English version consists of David Babich, Erik Bergmann, Jimmy Nochol, Anet Tarpoff, Donna Mae Wong, Scott McCulloch, Barry Gjerde
Barry Gjerde
Barry Gjerde was born Oddbjørn Egil Gjerde on August 13, 1951 in Vestnes, Norway. He has worked many years in Japan as a translator, mostly narrating various corporate projects and providing voice acting for video games. He is known to for his portrayal of the character Barry Burton in the original...
and Samantha Vega.
Reception
Bloody Roar received generally positive reviews from critics. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
stated that the game's graphics were "every bit as good as the arcade version". Douglass Perry of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
noted that the graphics had "great shadows" and "detailed textures in both the background and on the characters", but added that while the character design was "cool-looking", it was not "addictive or moving". Gerstmann said that the game "runs fast and very smoothly" and that the game's moves are "very dynamic, resulting in a lot of oohs and aahs as a wolf bites a chunk out of his opponent's neck and blood spurts everywhere, splattering on the ground." Perry noted that the "high frame rates and a speedy graphic engine enable moves to be executed quickly and without wait." Gerstmann passed the music off as "typical fighting game fare", while Perry admitted that he "actually [liked] half of the tunes, while half of them sound like they've been ripped off from forgettable '80s heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
tunes." Gerstmann said that the sound effects were "really great", while Perry noted that the only character sounds he found annoying were those from the character Alice, comparing her to both a "broken record" and Demonica from the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
video game Dark Rift
Dark Rift
Dark Rift is a 3D fighting game for the N64, notable for being the first N64 game to use 60frame/s, as well as being N64's first native fighting game...
. The game's success resulted in its re-release for The Best range
The Best range
The Best is a Sony PlayStation budget range in Japan and parts of Asia. For the PlayStation, The Best was followed by PSone Books when the PSone was released in 2000...
on October 14, 1999. Bloody Roar was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.